Relief in Japan After Shinzo Abe’s Visit With Trump<br />Japan wrote that first<br />"Now, obviously with Trump there’s a very big question mark whether the American commitments to these so-called shared values remain the same." From a strategic security standpoint, Japan may have few choices other than to continue a strong alliance with the United States, given threats from North Korea, which tested a ballistic missile while Mr. Abe was still in Florida with Mr. Trump,<br />and China, which has become more assertive in the East and South China Seas.<br />Japan, really, by itself, cannot handle the security problems in Asia." Mr. Trump may also be coming to realize<br />that with a rising China, Japan is the United States’ best ally in Asia.<br />Before the visit last week, some in the Japanese news media had gibed Mr. Abe for his apparent eagerness to foster a friendship with Mr. Trump, and some joked<br />that the American president would take advantage of the Japanese leader during their bout of golf diplomacy at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.<br />But after an election campaign in which Mr. Trump frequently criticized Japan on trade issues and accused the country of not paying enough for its military defense, he assured Japan<br />that the relationship between the two countries "runs very, very deep,’’ and showed a deference to Mr. Abe that belied his previous remarks.
